MATS NILSSON TT DREAMS Interview: PAUL LINDSAY ATS Nilsson is a man Mwho exudes supreme confidence. The strength of his personality not only lit up our meeting, but his common grasp of the English language, and the use of taboo words normally reserved for ‘colourful conversations’ after the watershed, also turned a few heads in the yuppie Holywood pub I suggested for the interview. Needless to say, we’ve had to include a few asterisks in the body of the feature, but I think you’ll understand where he’s coming from! The 32-year-old from Gothenburg in Sweden has become one of road racing’s brightest new stars, but the self confessed adrenalin junkie also loves his cars, bringing his 500hp AMG Mercedes Black Series to this year’s TT. So if you were on the Mountain during TT week and thought you heard faint screams coming from a flying Mercedes – you were correct. Mats’ friend Lars and Ivan Morrell [Ryan Farquhar’s mechanic] were clinging on for dear life as Mats recorded 185mph along the Mountain Mile on four wheels! “I normally don’t drive fast when I have people in the car but I knew where I was going. I could have went faster, but I don’t think the boys liked doing 185mph over the Mountain in my car. Lars was really screaming – it was pretty funny!” Coming from a country where football and ice hockey dominate the sports pages, Mats opted for two wheels, inspired by his father who rode a Husqvarna Silver Bullet back in the day. x Image: DAVE KNEEN www.irishracer.com — September 2008 45 MATS NILSSON TT DREAMS x “I started riding motocross bikes do some laps’. So I went there, but Then I had this local guy, Kevin from the time I was 6, but you’re not after a while he called me over and ‘Ago’ Murphy, who was some allowed to race until you are 12 years said, ‘Mats, it doesn’t look good for character. He took me out and old in Sweden. I wasn’t that good my sponsors when you are going showed me round for the first time. until I was about 15 when I’d grown faster than me!’ I didn’t care if my When he showed me the braking up and matured a little bit. Well, bike was upside down, inside out… I points and the way he talked, I grown up… I still haven’t matured! just pulled the throttle, so I went and thought, f***, you should be doing My father used to drive his bike got myself the licence – that was 140mph laps at this rate! very fast. He didn’t race but he got 2003.” Without him I honestly couldn’t me into bikes at an early age. He After watching DJ in action, Mats have done it, and even though people could never afford it back in those decided that it was the TT or nothing came up and told me to steer clear of days but he was one of the for him, but what he did need was him, I said, ‘If you’ve got a problem motivators for me.” more time on a bike, as he was with Kevin, tell him, not me. I can On two wheels, Sweden is better basically a novice. A trip to France handle him.’ known for its Speedway ‘factory’, was organised with a friend, who was I just told him to cut the shit, but producing such names as Tony then the Swedish Superstock he was just excited about the TT Rickardsson, 6 times world champion, but yet again Mats found circuit. He took my comments really champion, from its elite league. Road himself going faster than his tutor. well and I find him really helpful.” racing, and more so, pure road racing, “I’d bought a standard R6 racing Mats’ first lap was supposed to be is virtually unheard of in Sweden, so I bike and took it to France. At the time uneventful in a controlled asked Mats where his enthusiasm my friend had just done a deal with environment behind the travelling and inspiration came from? Suzuki, but I was one second a lap marshal, but apparently someone “Road racing [circuit] in Sweden is faster than him in France and before else hadn’t quite prepared correctly a small sport and they’ve recently the end of the week I was two [by this stage Mats had been doing hooked up the superbike series with seconds quicker. That was in 2004. laps in his van to learn the place] the car racing. Now they do have I then planned to race at the TT in which gave the platinum blonde 15,000 people on the grandstands 2005 but I’d just too much work on as Swede a bit of a fright. and they are getting TV coverage but I’d just started my company. Joachim “For my first lap I was pretty they only have 19 bikes on the grid [Karlsson] died there in 2005 and I relaxed but it was probably the [more than MotoGP – Ed!]. The top couldn’t go to the TT in 2006, but I closest I came to crashing as I had a guy, Jima Lindstrom, is no slouch. found out there was another race in local Irish guy with me going out to On Tony Rickardsson: I think he August. I’d never even heard of the Cronk Y Voddy [I’m not telling his changed the face of the sport Manx Grand Prix. name] and he decided to pull the worldwide, not just in Sweden. He Lars was one of the people who brakes. We were told not to pass was such a character but in Sweden didn’t think I’d go. I had some other people unless they are really, really he took the sport three levels up people who said they’d help me out slow but that was a close one. I did when he won all those world titles. but when it came time to book the two laps every morning in the van so He’s now racing in the Porsche tickets, they were walking their dogs, I knew pretty much where I was going Carrera Cup and that is picking up mowing the lawn or going on holiday! at that stage. also. He’s a good sales person so So I thought, screw you; I just loaded On my first lap after that I did Bray to speak. up my Mercedes van with my Hill flat out in sixth gear and I’ll never My road racing and TT interest standard R6 and a small tent and forget it – I had a huge smile on my came when I saw a piece on David away I went. I took the ferry over and face. I thought, ‘this is just f****** Jefferies from 2002 when he won on thought, if I don’t like it I’ll just come awesome’. Ryan Farquhar gave me a the TAS bike on Swedish TV Sport home.” lot of help [at the 2008 TT] and when News. They did a feature about his There’s an unwritten rule among he told me to take places like the left superbike and how much is cost to competitors, common sense I hander before Ballacrye flat out I build and how fast his superstock suppose, to go and learn the TT trusted him.” machine was. He is my idol, and circuit well in advance, but Mats For never having seen the TT circuit when I saw that I thought, ‘f****** didn’t even know where it was on the before he arrived, the Swedish rider hell, if you’re riding a bike and you Island, never mind which direction didn’t disgrace himself, finishing want to win then you’ve got to do they raced, as he described to me in second in the Newcomers’ A race on that’”. his own inimitable and demonstrative his standard R6 behind Irishman Not one to shrug off a challenge – style. Shane Conor on a 750. Mats also although some of his friends thought “I’ll never forget when I arrived. I dipped under 20 minutes for a lap he was mad – Mats took his friend stopped at St Ninian’s crossroads and [113mph] setting him up nicely for a Lars’ brand new ZX6R to a track day asked this old woman, ‘Where is this crack at the Manx in 2007. to get his licence. Lars had just famous TT circuit?’ She told me I was “In 2007 I came across waved arrived in Belfast for the Ulster Grand standing on it! I just thought, this is yellow flags at Rhencullen after Prix and told me: “He brought it back f****** brilliant. I made my way up to Shane Conor had crashed in the with the fairings scraped and the the paddock and the first guy I met Junior and I slowed to about 30mph; I exhaust… it was all grinded down!” was Woody [Chris Bradshaw] who is knew then that it had cost me the Mats interjected: “Yes, but the guy now one of my best mates. He races race. I was pretty much the first on that took me round had been racing the Manx as well. When I arrived and the scene of the accident… the first for a couple of years; after a couple of parked up he said, ‘where’s your rider. It’s a pity because I did have hours I just blasted by him and team?’ I told him it was just me.